CCMC Personnel

Dr. Mei Han, Director of the CCMC

Mei Han (Ph.D.): Associate Professor of School of Music and Director of the Center
for Chinese Music and Culture at Middle Tennessee State University.

Dr. Han is an ethnomusicologist specializing in Chinese music. Her publications on Chinese music include journal articles, book chapter, and entries for The Groves Dictionary of Musical Instruments and The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Her research interests expand to music of East Asia, the Chinese diaspora within North America, and contemporary music influenced by Asian philosophies.

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Dr. Han founded/directed Chinese Music Ensembles at University of British Columbia, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and Kenyon College, Ohio. She has been working with students of all ages learning Chinese musical instruments and ensemble performance. She has been an adjudicator for the Kiwanis Music Festival in Vancouver Canada for 8 years.

Dr. Han has lectured at universities and music institutes around the world. She received the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship (full scholarship for Doctoral degree), the highest awarded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada; the St. John Scholarship (for Master’s degree at UBC), awarded
by St. John University (Shanghai) Alumni Association; and the Thelma Adamson Prize for the best student presentation, SEM Northwest Conference.

Dr. Han is an internationally claimed concert artist on the zheng (Chinese long zither), performing in a multitude of musical genres including traditional, contemporary, creative improvisation, electro-acoustic music (www. mei-han.com). She has toured to five continents and performed in prestigious venues and festivals. She received two Juno nominations (Canadian Music Award) and recorded eight solo and chamber music albums.

Dr. Han began to take music lessons at age of 10. She studied with zheng masters,
such as Gao Zicheng (traditional) and Zhang Yan (contemporary) in China. She was a featured soloist for over 10 years with the Zhan You Ensemble, the prestigious ensemble of
its type in China. Moving to international stages, she has played concerts in more than
a dozen countries, including performances at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington DC; the National Day Celebration in Ottawa; WOMAD festival in Australia and Singapore, and concerts in Germany, Holland, Japan, and Vietnam. She premiered the first original zheng concerto composed by non-Chinese composer (John Sharpley) with the China Philharmonic Orchestra in Beijing, 2003.

Instructors:

Zhusong Duis a master of Chinese wind instruments, a professor at the Zhejiang Conservatory
of Music, the director of Bawu (double reed) and Hulusi (double reed) branches of
Chinese Folk Instruments Association, anddirector of the Zhejiang branch of the Chinese Musicians' Association.He is formerly the head of Instrumental Music Department and the director of the Music
College of Hangzhou Normal University. In 1992, Du was awarded first place in the
National Souna (double reed) Invitational Tournament, and in 1993 he became the first
student to double major in performance and composition at the Shanghai Conservatory
of Music. Du has since become a nationally recognized concert artist in China and
has toured internationally in over 20 different countries. In 2006, he was invited
to perform at the 61st anniversary celebration of the United Nations in New York and was named a Goodwill
Ambassador of Chinese Culture at this event. He was invited to perform and introduce
Chinese culture at renowned universities like Standford University, Columbia University,
and Princeton University. Professor Du is currently a visiting professor of Chinese
music at the MTSU Center for Chinese Music and Culture.

Wei Liangis an erhu performer and an associate professor at the ZhejiangConservatory of Music. There, Wei is the director of string instruments instruction
and research. In 2000, Wei graduated from the Xi’an Conservatory of Music with a
master’s degree in music literature. He has published nine academic articles on erhu
performance. He served on the board of the Zheijiang professional erhu committee and
presides over several areas of studies in the Chinese Ministry of Education and Zhejiang
Social Science Associations. Wei has toured in China, the US, and South Korea.

Visiting Scholars:

Zini Wang (PhD) is the vice Dean and an associate professor in the School of Arts at the Zhejiang
International Studies University. Wang received her PhD in Ethnomusicology in 2009.
Wang's research focuses on the culture and history surrounding the qin, 7-string zither.
She has published 15 academic essays and directed 10 cultural research projects in
conjunction with China's Ministry of Education, the Zhejiang Social Science Union,
and Hangzhuo Social Science Union.
Lili He (PhD) is a professor at Liaocheng University in the Shandong province of China. She received
her PhD in Ethnomusicology from the Fujian Normal University in 2009. Dr. He's research
focuses on Chinese traditional music and Pipa performance. She has published 23 academic
papers and 3 books about her research. In addition, Dr. He has obtained 15 awards
for her Pipa performances, and directed 7 projects throughout her academic career.

Ding Jianghong is pursuing a Master's degree in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language at the Beijing Normal
University. She graduated in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language from the China
Women's University in 2013. Jianghong teaches weekly lessons at the MTSU Daycare
Club and at the Homard Pittard Campus School. After graduation, she plans to teach
Chinese to Elementary school students. Expected Graduation date: May 2019.

Student workers:

Alex Carter is a graduate assistant pursuing an M.F.A in Recording Arts and Technologies at MTSU.
He graduated from Vanderbilt University with a major in "Communication Through the
Arts" in 2013. Carter is a classically trained pianist and percussionist, and formerly
was the Director of Music at the Fisk University Memorial Chapel. In addition, he
performed with the Vanderbilt Vortex Percussion ensemble between 2009-2013. He composes
for piano in his free time. At the Center, Carter records audio/video shoots of CCMC
concerts and performances. Expected graduation date: May 2019.
Shan Zheng is a graduate teaching assistant pursuing her M.M in Music Education at MTSU. She graduated from MTSU B.M.A in gen. vocal through the Music Industry program in
Spring of 2017. She is originally from Hangzhou, China and began playing zheng at age 5. Shan has
performed at the West Lake Expo in Hangzhou. At the CCMC, Shan teaches zheng to students
in the Chinese Music Ensemble. Expected graduation date: May 2019.

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